Historic Fires of Fredericton

Queen Street Fire
May 22, 1970

The call came in from patrolling Police Constable Robert Taylor at 1:22am. There were visible flames in an alley on the 300 block of Queen Street. While firemen and police were helping more than 50 people escape from the building, a second fire was noticed further up Queen Street.

Businesses across the street were damaged by smoke and the intense radiant heat, which melted store signs and broke windows.

When it was over, blackened, charred shells of buildings and debris was all that remained of seven downtown Fredericton business establishments, the fire had swept through the two city blocks, leaving 75 persons homeless and causing damage estimated at more than a million dollars.